Sachin Tendulkar and CNR Rao conferred Bharat Ratna

President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee conferred India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, on eminent scientist CNR Rao and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on February 4, 2014.

Sachin Tendulkar become the youngest Indian to receive this award. He also the first to be chosen from the field of sports for the nation’s highest civilian award, ahead of hockey maestro Dhyan Chand.

Bharat Ratna was instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred “in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order”, without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex. Per original statutes for the award, only the fields of art, literature, science along with public services were made eligible.